Artist
Lyonel Feininger (American, 1871–1956)American, 1871–1956
CultureAmerican
Titles
- Self-Portrait
Date1915
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsCanvas: 39 1/2 × 31 1/2 in. (100.3 × 80 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment
Object number2014.756
Non exposé
Explore Further
Department
Modern and Contemporary ArtObject Type
descent, found himself an enemy alien living
in Berlin at the outbreak of World War I
in 1914. Uniting the psychological urgency
of German Expressionism with the formal
structures of Cubism, his self-portrait reveals
the profound isolation that he felt in the face
of global conflict, which he condemned as a
“monstrous, man-eating machine.”
ProvenanceEstate of the artist, New York; Roman Norbert Ketterer, Campione d’Italia, Switzerland; [Cecil Amelia Blaffer Foundation, Houston, 1967]; given to [Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation, Houston, 1979]; purchased by MFAH, 2014.
Exhibition HistoryMuseumsverein Elberfeld, Wuppertal, Germany.
"Feininger," Galerie Der Sturm, Berlin, 1917.
Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hannover, Germany, 1932.
M.H. De Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, 1943.
San Francisco, 1959–1961.
The Dallas Museum for Contemporary Art, 1963.
M.H. De Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, 1963.
Willard Gallery, New York, 1964.
Campione d'Italia, Italy, 1966.
Campione d'Italia, Italy, 1967.
"Expressionismus," Spencer A. Samuels Company, New York, 1968.
"Lyonel Feininger," Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, New York, 1969.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1979–1981.
"Texas tour," 1983–1992.
"Lyonel Feininger...," Museo Cantonale d'Arte, Lugano, Switzerland, 1991.
"Modernism in a Century of Change II: Expressionism," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1998.
"Lionel Feininger: Von Gelmeroda nach Manhatten," Nationalgalerie, Berlin, July 3–October 11, 1998; Haus der Kunst, Munich, October 29, 1998–January 17, 1999.
"Aufstieg und Fall der Moderne," Kunstsammlungen (Schlossmuseum), Weimar, May 9–August 1, 1999.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2000.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2002.
"Lyonel Feininger's Figurative Drawings," Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, October 24, 2003–January 11, 2004.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2005.
"Lyonel Feininger Retrospective," Yokosuka Museum of Art, Japan, August 2–October 5, 2008; Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Nagoya, Japan; October 17–December 23, 2008; The Miyagi Museum of Art, Sendai, Japan, January 10–March 1, 2009.
"Der Blaue Reiter, Jawlensky, Kandinsky and beyond," Museum Wiesbaden, Germany, October 31, 2010–February 27, 2011.
"Lyonel Feininger," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, June 1–October 31, 2011; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, January 16–April 8, 2012.
"American Made: 250 Years of American Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, July 7, 2012–January 2, 2013.
"Lyonel Feininger," Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Germany, October 27, 2023–February 18, 2024. (OL.1576)
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed in ink on verso top stretcher Lyonel Feininger / Self Portrait. 1915 / Selbstbildnis 1915
Signed recto upper left: Feininger / 15
Printed labels on verso:
Sarah Campbell Blaffer / Foundation / TWELVE GREENWAY PLAZA / SUITE 716 / HOUSTON, TEXAS 77046 / Lyonel Feinenger (1871-1956) / SELF-PORTRAIT / Oil on canvas; 39.5" x 31.5"
Lyonel Feininger / Von Gelmeroda nach Manhattan / 3.Juli - 11. Oktober 1998 / Nationalgalerie Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Haus der Kunst, München Lyonel Feininger 1.11.98-24.1.9 / Kisten Nr.: / 33 / Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundatio // Lyonel Feininger / Selbstbildnis, 1915 // Öl auf LW
YAMATO FINE ARTS / JAPAN / EXHIBT. / "Lyonel Feininger Retrospective / in Japan 2008" / CASE NO. / 2 / CATAL. / NO. / 62
the dallas museum for contemporary arts / 3415 CEDAR SPRINGS • DALLAS 19, TEXAS / Lyonel Feininger Retrospective / April 10 - May 5, 1963 / Self Portrait [underlined] 1915
THE LYONEL FEININGER MEMORIAL EXHIBITION / 1959 - 1961 / SELFPORTRAIT - 1915 / OIL / [dimensions] / ESTATE OF THE ARTIST / AMERICAN CIRCUIT
M.H. de YOUNG MEMORIAL MUSEUM / Title Self-Portrait, 1915 / Owner Lionel Feininger / Address 235 E. 22nd St. New York / Artist Lionel Feininger / Loan Gift / MEET THE ARTIST EXHIBITION
Berlin W9 Poisdamer Straße 134a / Name des Küstlers: Lyonel Feininger / Wohnort: Berlin - Gehle[missing] / [missing]werks: Selbst[missing] / [missing]mmer: 3[?].
Museums-Verein / 3813 / Elberfeld
E.2009.1425/Crate LF # 52 / Lyonel Feininger / Self Portrait, 1915 / Oil on canvas / [dimensions] / Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation, Houston / Lyonel Feininger: At the Edge of the World / Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 30 June - October 2012 / Lyonel Feininger: From Manhattan at the Bauhaus / Montreal Museum of Fine Arts 22 January - 13 May 2012
Sarah Campbell Blaffer / Foundation / TWELVE GREENWAY PLAZA / SUITE 716 / HOUSTON, TEXAS 77046 / Lyonel Feinenger (1871-1956) / SELF-PORTRAIT / Oil on canvas; 39.5" x 31.5"
Lyonel Feininger / Von Gelmeroda nach Manhattan / 3.Juli - 11. Oktober 1998 / Nationalgalerie Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Haus der Kunst, München Lyonel Feininger 1.11.98-24.1.9 / Kisten Nr.: / 33 / Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundatio // Lyonel Feininger / Selbstbildnis, 1915 // Öl auf LW
YAMATO FINE ARTS / JAPAN / EXHIBT. / "Lyonel Feininger Retrospective / in Japan 2008" / CASE NO. / 2 / CATAL. / NO. / 62
the dallas museum for contemporary arts / 3415 CEDAR SPRINGS • DALLAS 19, TEXAS / Lyonel Feininger Retrospective / April 10 - May 5, 1963 / Self Portrait [underlined] 1915
THE LYONEL FEININGER MEMORIAL EXHIBITION / 1959 - 1961 / SELFPORTRAIT - 1915 / OIL / [dimensions] / ESTATE OF THE ARTIST / AMERICAN CIRCUIT
M.H. de YOUNG MEMORIAL MUSEUM / Title Self-Portrait, 1915 / Owner Lionel Feininger / Address 235 E. 22nd St. New York / Artist Lionel Feininger / Loan Gift / MEET THE ARTIST EXHIBITION
Berlin W9 Poisdamer Straße 134a / Name des Küstlers: Lyonel Feininger / Wohnort: Berlin - Gehle[missing] / [missing]werks: Selbst[missing] / [missing]mmer: 3[?].
Museums-Verein / 3813 / Elberfeld
E.2009.1425/Crate LF # 52 / Lyonel Feininger / Self Portrait, 1915 / Oil on canvas / [dimensions] / Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation, Houston / Lyonel Feininger: At the Edge of the World / Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 30 June - October 2012 / Lyonel Feininger: From Manhattan at the Bauhaus / Montreal Museum of Fine Arts 22 January - 13 May 2012
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.
